Diaphragm pumping device



July l @2% W. C. CAR'EER DIAPHRAGM PUMPING DEVCE Filed Dec. 27 1920 gmn mma

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Patented Fully i924. y

unire srs atomes rar' --mgo WILLIAM C. CARTER, F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

nmrnnaem PUMPING DEVICE.

Application filed December 27, w20. Serial No. 433,399.

10 same.

Thisinvention relates primarily to pumping devices of the kind that comprise a pulsating diaphragm operated by intermittent pressure produced in a cylinder, although one feature of my present invention consists of an apparatus of novel construction for supplying `liquid fuel to an internal combustion engine.

The main object of'my present invention is to provide a diaphragm pumping device of the general type above referred to which is so constructed that the intermittent pressure in the cylinder with which the device is connected is not exerted directly on the diaphragm.

' Another object is to provide anovel liquid fuel supply apparatus Ifor internal combustion engines that is efficient, inexpensive to manufacture and of such design that there is little liability of its getting out of order when in use.

And still another object is to provide a novel form of valve mechanism for a liquid lfuel feed tank of the general type disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,146,133, dated July 13, 1915. @ther objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

The ligure of the drawings is a vertical sectional View, illustrating a diaphragm Apumping device constructed in accordance with my invention used in connection with an internal combustion engine for drawing liquid fuel from a source of supply into a fuel feed tank of novel design.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates the preferred form of my invention` A designates as an entirety my improved diaphragmy pumping. device. Said device consists o f a flexible diaphragm 1, an immovable wall 2 that co-operates with said vin any preferred manner.

diaphragm to formj a 'chamber in-which pressure and suction are created intermittently by the movement of the diaphragm, and an actuating means for said diaphragm comprising a spring 3 that moves the diaphragm in one direction vand a piston 4 that moves said diaphragm in the opposite direction7 said piston being reciprocatingly mounted ina cylinder 5 that is directly con-y ',nected by means of a passageway 6 with the cylinder Z of an internal combustion or other machine in which :pressure is created intermittently. The pressure that is' produced in the cylinder 7. of the engine or machine with which the pumping device A is used is exerted on the piston Lof the pumping device, thereby causing the diaphragm 1 to flex in one direction, and compress the spring, and when the pressure insaid cylin der 7 ceases, the spring 3 expands -and flexes the diaphragm 1 'in Athe opposite direction. Accordingly, when the engine or machinewith which the device A is used is in operation, the pulsations or vibrations of the diaphragm 1 willcreate suction and pressure intermittently in a pipeS that communicates withl the chamber of the ,device A and which leads to an apparatus that is operated by the pumping device A,

The piston 4 ofthe pumping device A" is preferably directly connected with .the diaphragm 1 by a rivet or other. suitable means 9, but `it is notnecessary that .the spring 3 be attached to the diaphragm.

In fact, when the pumping device Alis used in connection with an internal combustion engine, as herein illustrated for drawing I liquid fuel from a source of supply up to'a feed tank or fuel reservoir which supplies fuel to theengine, I prefer to arrange the spring 3 so .that it simply bears' loosely against one side of the diaphragm l, said spring being arranged in a tubular member 10 on the immovable wall 2 of the pump chamber ze to which the pipe 8 is connected A buffer 11 of felt, cork or other suitable material, is preferably -arranged on the underside of the wall 2 so as to` form a cushion against which the A'diaphragm 1 bears, when said diaphragm is iexed by the movementof the piston ,4.

- with the cylinder of the pumpin The diaphragm 1 can be constructed in various ways, but I prefer to form it from a plurality of layers of fabric arranged between two metal members 1a that are clamped together and secured to the piston 4 by the rivet 9. The peripheral edgerportion ofy the diaphragm 1 is clamped to the peripheral edge portion of the immovable wall 2 of the pumpingchamber by a clamping ring 12 which is preferably integrally connected l device by a spider 12a composed of arms t at project radially from the upper end of the cylinder 5, thereby producing a compact pumping device that can be easily connected to the cylinder of an engine or machine by means of a nipple or plpe screwed into the lower end of the cylinder 5 of the pump-y ing device.

I have herein illustrated the pumping device' A as forming part of an apparatus for Supplying liquid fuel to an internal combustio-n engine, said device A being used to draw fuel from a source of supply up into a feed tank or fuel reservoir B from which the fuel is supplied to the engine. I wish it to be understood, however, thatthe pumping device A is not limited to the particular use mentioned. The feed tank'B of the apparatus herein illustrated operates on the same general principle as the feed tank described in my prior patent previously referred to, but it is equippedwith a valve mechanism of novel construction. Said fee-d tank consists of a fuel receptacle or passageway C through a. pipe (not shown)- which leads to a source of suppl of liquid'- fuel, and said tank is also provided at-its lower end with an outlet 13u through which the fuel escapes from the tankB to the engine, it'lbeing immaterial, however, Iat* what point the fuel escapes from the tank B. yThe reference. character 14 designates a strainer that is arranged over the fuel inlet 13 of the tank.

The passageway C of the tank 1s provided with an inlet valve 15 and a discharge valve 16 arranged in such a manne-r that the suction which iscreated inthe passageway C by the movement o-f the diaphragm 1 in one direction will cause the inlet valve 15 to open, and thus admit fuel to the passageway C, and the movement of said diaphragm in the' opposite direction will create suicient pressure in the passageway C to open the discharge valve 16, and thus permit the rises above a. .certain level, however, a means becomes oprative to automatically out otf the supply f fuel to the passageway C.` In the form of my invention herein illustrated the means just referred to embodies. they same basic principle as the corresponding means Vof the :apparatus described in my pending application for patent, Serial No. 266,908, filed vDecember 16, 1918, namely, it is constructed in such a manner that the diaphragm of .the pumping device will remain at .rest on practically at rest during the time the supply of fuel to the passageway C of the tank B is interrupted. It is of slightly different construction, however,

from the corresponding means of the appa- I ratus described in my said pending application, in that it comprises a third valve 17 separate and distinct from the discharge valve 16 and arranged so that it will remain open or in an inoperative condition whenthe fuel in the tank B is below a. certain level, and will close automatically or become operative when the fuel in said tank rises above said level. The valve 17 is arranged in the lower portion of the passageway C above the inlet valve 15 of said passageway and is combined with a spring 1S that exerts pressure on the valve17 in a direction to tend to hold it seated over a port 19 in the passageway C. 1 The valve 17 is prevented from seating when the fuel in the tank B is below a certa-in level by means of a rod or trippingy device 2O arranged above said valve in longitudinal alignment with same and operatively connected with a oat 21 in the tank B.

When the. fuel in the tank is below a Ncertain level, the weightof the float 21 is exerted on the valve 17 through the tripping -device 20, thereby holding the valve 17 open or in an, inoperative condition. At such times the valve 17 has no effect on the admission and discharge of the fuel into and out of the passageway C. When .the fuel in the tank B rises above a certain level, however, the float 21 moves upwardly, andthus lifts the tripping device 20pout of engagement with the valve 17, thereby permitting said valve to move upwardl under the influence of the spring 18 an close the port 19. This causes the inlet valve 15 to be sageway C, and consequently, any suction which is thereafter created in the passage:

way C abovevthe port 19 will have no iniiuence on the inlet valve. In other words, the upward movement of the'valve 17, due

to a rise in thelevel of the fuel in the tank B, causes theV supply of fuel to the passageway C to be interrupted or cut ofil automatically, because it is impossible for the inlet valve 15 to be actuated by the suction in the upper portion of the passageway G when the valve 17 is closed or in such a position that it traps ofi' the lower portion of the passageway C in which the inlet valve'15 is arranged. Moreover, the closing or seating of'the valve 17 causes the diaphragm 1 of the pumping device A to cease its normal operations and to remain at rest or practically at rest until vthe valve 17 is unseated or opened by a drop in the level of the fuel in the tank B. This action results from cutting oft' communication between the supply of fuel and the upper portion of the passageway C in which a partial'vacuum is created each time the diavphragm 1 of the Apumping device vieXes downwardly, it being impossible for either fuel or airto enter the upper portion of the passageway C when the valve 17 is closed, as-shown in the drawing. Consequently, when the diaphragm 1-l of the pumping device starts to move downwardly on what might be termed its suction stroke, a vacuum will be created in the upper portion yof the passageway C of suhcient intensity to overcome the force of the spring 3 and prevent the diaphragm from flexing or moving downwardly any farther. lt will, of course, be understood thatthe dia.h phragm of the pumping device has a slight movement, both upwardly and downwardly, when the valve 17 is closed, but this movement is so slight that it has no fatiguing action on the diaphragm.

fll`he particular details of construction of the tank B and the particularktype of valves that are used for governing the admission and discharge ofthe fuel into and out of the passageway C and for trapping olf a portion of said passageway 'are immaterial, but l prefer to use ball check valves for the valves 15 and 16 and arrange the valve 17in the lower portion of the passageway.

C directly above the inlet valve 15. The passageway Cv is preferably formed in a member 22 that projects downwardly from the underside of the removable top 23 of stopI for the discharge valve 16, andthe part 15a being mounted in the lower end of the member 22 and projecting "downwardly through the bottom of the tank B, so that it will serve as a support for the fitting or pipe connection 24 in which'the inlet opening 13 and the discharge opening laare formed. The tank B is provided with an air Vvent 25 formed preferably by a perforated member that is mounted in the removable top or cover 23 of said tank.

A pumpingdevice A of the construction previously described is capable of use for various purposes, but it is particularly adapted for use with an internal combustion engine, owing-to the fact that the hot gases in the cylinder of the engine with which the \device is connected never come inl Contact with the diaphragm of the device, and moreover,'the high pressure that exists in the cylinder of the engine is never exerted directly on the diaphragm. The fuelfeed tank or reservoir B is of such simple construction th'at it can be manufactured at a low cost, and as it is composed of only a few rugged parts of simple design, there is little liability of its getting out of order when in use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A pumping device, comprising a dia.

site direction, a cylinder for said piston, a

second cylinder wherein pressure is created intermittently, and means for establishing direct communicationat all times between said cylinders. i

3. A pumping device consisting of a cylinder, a member combined with said cylinder so as to form one wall of a pumping chamber, a flexible diaphragm connected to said member so as to form the other wall of said chamber, a piston in said cylinder mechanically connected to Said diaphragm and adapted to move the diaphragm in one direction, and a spring on the other sideA of said diaphragm for moving it in the opposite direcy tion. 1

4. A fuel ysupply apparatus for internal combustion engines, comprising afuel reservoir, a passagewayT arranged intermediate said reservoir and a supply of liquid fuel and provided'with an inlet valve and a discharge valve, a pumping device comprising a chamber, a connection ,between said cham- 10erl and passageway, a diaRhragm in said chamber for creatin suction and pressure intermittently in sai passageway, an oper- 5 ating piston for said diaphragm connectedv to same, a cylinder for saidpiston, and means for establishing communication between said cylinder and the cylinder of an internal combustion engine so as t0 cause said piston t0 be actuated by the intermit- 10 tent pressure produced in the cylinder ofV the engine.

WILLIAM C. CARTER. 

